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Ok…so update on what’s been going on with me since so many people have been like what is going on with you:

I went home from work last Tuesday night with aches and chills, thinking I just had a flu, but I started throwing up and it just kept going. I kept thinking every morning I would wake up and it would be better, like most flus right? But by Friday I knew it was pretty bad and I went in and the doctor thought I had viral gastroenteritis, which is not pleasant either and it’s just basically an awful stomach flu that he told me could last up to two weeks and I would need to go get fluids because I was dehydrated. When I didn’t hold down the anti-nausea prescriptions, I had to go to Urgent Care…where my heart rate was at about 140 and my blood pressure was below 70, which is BAD. They gave me two bags of fluids and sent me home.

So, Saturday morning, we finally just went to the ER because I woke up that morning still throwing up, with a worse fever, headache and everything, so my Mom and Grandpa were like it’s something else. They figured out that it was Pyelonephritis, which is a kidney infection, which is pretty bad. Every time I tell people they’re like o, that’s it. No…not a bladder infection, like all the way up in my kidneys. And when you’re kidneys stop working, so does the rest of your body. I was also still super super dehydrated. (Later my new good doctor told me I was pretty close to dying and it’s life-threatening, so it’s a good thing I came in when I did. I just thought I had a flu and I was going to wake up and feel better one morning.) So they put three more bags of fluids in me with morphone, and started me on some antibiotics. They did a bunch of swabs and blood tests etc. And then I had to do Potassium tests because I took so much fluid in that it threw all of that off balance. And an oral form of antibiotic that more specifically was targeting the bacteria infection. The one in my IV was more of an overall one.

I went home and slept a lot and we had to come back Sunday morning because I had to do another round of the fluid and antibiotics. We had to go back to the ER on Monday to do the same thing and check on my testing, where we found out that the culture of bacteria came back and it was resisting the antibiotic they were giving me so I had to start all over on a new one! I got more fluid and antibiotics and switched to a new oral one because the other one wasn’t working. Since the other one wasn’t working, my kidneys weren’t working. And since they weren’t it wasn’t filtering out my pee and it was building up in my body and making me even more sick and bloated and I gained 11 pounds of water weight, which was all pressing on my stomach and lungs and hurting so bad. So they were trying to get it out and get the antibiotic working. It was awful. And I still was throwing up and having back pain and headaches this whole time.

So finally, my mom just took me back to Grandma’s and I basically slept for two days and it sort of started working, but then I started getting awful back and chest pains. I couldn’t even breathe. I was supposed to go back for labs to make sure everything was working and do a follow up on Thursday, but we switched it and went to the Doctor a day early. This time I made sure to get in with a good one and not the one who diagnosed me wrong. :/ He was super nice and way more helpful and caring. It’s incredible the difference your doctor makes. I seriously just wanted to cry after he came and talked to me because it relieved so much stress just having him tell me that it was normal for what happened to my body and that I could call him whenever. I didn’t feel like I was just passed over in 5 minutes because where were more patients. That’s how my nurse at the emergency room was too. He told me to ask for him every day so that he would know what was going on and he could help me better. It was so so nice. Anyway, It looks like these antibiotics are working and my infection is starting to go away, but he said I could not feel good for up to a month. He said I had a life-threatening disease and I need to be really careful and take things easy for a while. I had to go back to the hospital to get a potassium test to make sure I’m not taking too much. And I had to do chest x-rays because it was hurting so bad and I was having trouble breathing. The doctor said I could have maybe cracked a rib because I was throwing up so much or possibly aspirated throw-up or liquid into my lungs. Hopefully not either of those, but I don’t have the results back yet.

Anyway, I still don’t feel well, but at least I know it’s going to get better now. Thank you for all of your sweet texts, comments, and emails! You guys are the best readers and friends!

If you don’t follow my on snap chat (@krdavis33) here are some of the highlights. Feel free to make fun of me all you want!

And, now that I’ve probably totally grossed you all out, here is my outfit from when I was way cuter and not sick 🙂

I know, another Free People Dress, but I can’t help myself, they’re just the best and Nordstrom has a ton of summer styles on sale right now! (See below for some similar styles!)

Also, I’m obsessed with these ‘Candela’ Earrings from Joyiia Jewelry. They’re the fun kind that actually go behind your ear lobe for like a 3D effect. Anyway, I love the shape and style and you need to get some!

A while ago I was asked to participate in The Stripped Project. We were supposed to come in a simple outfit, with absolutely no makeup on and do a photoshoot like that! I’m used to getting way more ready than I usually do for photo shoots! When I read about the reason behind it, which I will share in a moment I fell in love with the idea. I was also asked to answer some questions after the shoot, which made me think a lot too. You’ll see those below the photos. Feel free to leave any comments or tell me how you feel about this shoot or the topic in general because I love to hear from you! Please visit www.thestrippedproject.com to see the other participants!

About The Stripped Project (from the creator):

A compilation of raw portraits featuring bloggers with NO MAKE-UP and NO RETOUCHING. Women stripped of any facades, exposing their real beauty for all the world to see. These are the most beautiful photos I have ever taken. The most transparent. The most raw. And the most riveting.

As women, we think the word ‘beautiful’ only describes someone who fits within strict, media-defined parameters. Meanwhile, our flaws disqualify us from making the cut. We couldn’t be more wrong. Our unique strengths AND weaknesses make us beautiful; a beauty that no one else can replicate.

It is time for honesty and transparency in social media. Let’s stop defining beauty by a lack of flaws and start defining it by feeling comfortable and confident within our flaws. We all have them: physical, mental, and emotional. As a result, we all have something uniquely beautiful to offer the world. We have enough women pretending to be perfect. We need more women who are real and relatable; women who are not afraid of imperfection.

The Stripped Project was created to help women feel confident and beautiful in their own skin. Women do not need makeup, a new wardrobe, and perfect hair to be picture-worthy. As a photographer, I often find that what my subject considers to be her biggest flaw is actually her most beautiful and defining attribute.

With these photographs, I am starting to grasp my capacity for art, expression, and perspective. I am discovering more and more what it means to be beautiful. Most importantly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the courageous women who were a part of this project. I admire you all so very much. Thank you for letting me capture the real you.

With love,

Jordan

~

So here it is! My stripped shoot. And I thought I would leave you with a quote that I feel fits this shoot so well. I don’t know who said it. I just found it on pinterest one day and I love it.

“HEY YOU! Yes you. Stop being so unhappy with yourself. You are perfect. Stop wishing you looked like someone else or wishing people liked you as much as they like someone else. Stop trying to get attention from those who hurt you. Stop hating your body, your face, your personality, your quirks. Love them. Without those things you wouldn’t be you. And why would you want to be anyone else? Be confident with who you are. Smile. It’ll draw people in. If anyone hates on you because you are happy with yourself then you stick your middle finger in the air and say screw it. My happiness will not depend on others anymore. I’m happy because I love who I am. I love my flaws. I love my imperfections. They make me me. And ‘me’ is pretty amazing.”

What made you want to start blogging?
“I actually just started doing it for fun and I’ve always loved fashion. I started doing it more seriously because it’s something I love and I started meeting some really great people through it.”When do you feel most beautiful?
“I love being tan in the summer and just throwing some lotion on my face and some blush and mascara!
And, honestly this may contract everything I say below, but I love getting ready for a Friday or Saturday night and going out to dinner. I don’t get very ready all week so finally taking some time to myself and just putting on a little makeup and picking out a fun outfit kind of relaxes me. I loved showing up to the guy I have been dating’s house and the first thing he says is you look so beautiful. But at the same time, one of my favorite texts from him was something along the lines of “Don’t get too done up tonight, you’re so beautiful without all of it.” I don’t need someone else to tell me that, but my heart kind of melted when he said that.”Has becoming a successful blogger affected the amount you think about your appearance? If yes, how so?
“Yes and no. I definitely have always wanted to look cute and my outfits to be fun because I’ve always been interested in fashion like I said earlier, but there’s also a part of me that really doesn’t care. I will still go to work in my gym clothes with no makeup on all the time. I go to Target or even shopping like that and my hair in a top knot because the older I get I realize I just don’t need to be done up all the time. I love getting dressed up and going out with my friends or when I go to dinner, but sometimes you just need to be chill.”How much do you think your success as a blogger is tied to your physical appearance?
“I think so because if you didn’t put yourself together as a fashion blogger I think people would be like “Why would I follow her? She isn’t even cute and doesn’t know how to match!” Which is sort of a sad fact. But there are tons of people with other types of blogs that get lots of followers. I hope so people follow me for what I write about, or maybe I’m a little funny sometimes, or to find out where great sales are. I don’t think I’m the cutest person on the planet so I don’t think that it’s all my physical appearance! ”Have you ever struggled with a lack of confidence? If so, how did you get through it?
“Yes, definitely. I come off very confident, but I have had times when I am the most self conscious person you will ever meet. I’ve had to learn to get over it. I’m definitely not over it yet. Some days are better than others. I have had times where I look at myself and I’ve said I hate my body. I’m not small enough. I hate my hair. I hate my nose. I hate my face. I hate my legs. I’m not funny. Guys don’t like me. What’s wrong with me? She’s so much prettier than me. I hate myself. I still do it. But it’s honestly true that if you do not love yourself that no one else is going to. Not guys, not your friends, and not your followers. Confidence really is key. So if you have to fake it until you believe it, then do whatever you can. Comparison will kill you. I just have to look at what I have and I have to talk myself in to what I like about myself. I am so blessed. I have so many amazing people around me. I have an amazing family. I am smart. I am funny. I am cute. And sometimes I have to look at myself in the mirror and tell myself that even when I don’t think it. I’ve spent a lot of time crying to myself or my mom or my friends because that stupid voice in the back of my head tells me I’m not. But the biggest thing to remember is that I’m the one that needs to tell myself that. I don’t need a guy to tell me that or my mom or my friends even though it feels really good to hear it from them. Focus on one thing every day that you like about yourself or that you are grateful for and little by little it starts to help.”What are 5 things you love about yourself?
“I like that I am outgoing. I like my lips. I like that I am smart. I like my olive skin. I like my feet :).”What made you want to be a part of The Stripped Project?
“I think that I wanted to do it because I am pretty self conscious. I wanted to do it because I just love the idea that you don’t need everything else to be pretty. All of my photos are pretty done up and I have fabulous outfits and this just seemed like something that would stand out. Everyone is beautiful for different reasons and everyone has flaws. I wanted to just be me.”How did you feel being in front of the camera with no make-up on?
“At first I thought it was going to be weird, because I feel like I almost only put makeup on for my shoots sometimes! I’m so lazy and I don’t even wear makeup during the week at work. But then I just started acting like it was a normal shoot and I didn’t even notice!”How do you maintain positive self-esteem while being involved in social media?
“I don’t get too many negative comments which I am very lucky for. I have awesome followers. But I think you just have to look at everyone that loves you and all the positive. Take the bad with a grain of salt and not let it get to you. Sometimes venting or sharing it with your close friends (and for me, other bloggers in the same position) helps because they know how you feel. But mostly you just have to ignore it. If it gets to you too much, maybe it’s not worth putting yourself out there that much.”Have you ever felt pressure to look and act a certain way on social media?
“Yes. But I think the thing that I have learned is to stick to who you are. The people that will stick with you want that. If you conform and change then it’s not really you and your brand. If you do it just to get more followers, you wont’ actually be happy. If I want to post a personal picture or quote, but I know I will lose followers because of it, I just do it anyway now. I don’t care anymore. It’s my site and it’s my choice.”How do you feel social media can be used to empower women?
“This makes me think of that picture that floats around from time to time that says “I’m not interested in competing, I hope we all make it.”
I think that supporting each other rather than tearing each other down is so important. Working together instead of competing is the best form of building yourself as well. I see all these comments on bigger bloggers posts all the time, like why would she wear this or she’s obviously not being modest or etc. Well it was her choice and you reaching out and commenting negatively just reflects poorly on you. Just don’t take the time to comment unless it’s going to be positive. I don’t know why you would even follow someone if it’s to bash or be rude to them. If I don’t agree with something someone did then I don’t take the time to publically be rude to them. So I think that supporting each other and posting positive things can completely help to empower each other at least on a small level. Another example the other day, a couple of my friends were posting the reasons that they are brave on instagram and I saw a HUGE support from people commenting back and just telling them how awesome they were. Small things like that can help boost a persons self esteem or at least make them feel so loved. I know that when I get a comment from someone it can make my entire day.”

I hope you guys enjoyed the post and you all feel your worth and know you are amazing!

(A lot of people have asked me where I got my necklace and my tank so I added a shop the post for you guys!)

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